Can opener



Aug. 16, 1955 c. A. HULT 2,715,265

CAN OPENER Filed May 19, 1953 This invention .relates .to improvements in can openers and one of its objects is to .provide'a device which can be used for'opening cans without any stationary arrangement .at all, unlike .some .known can openers of substantially the same kind.

Regarding known can openers it may further be mentioned that there are two chief types of can openers, viZ., those by means of which the can is cut open through the lid, and those by means of which the can is cut open through the side wall below the rim.

Both types have their advantages and disadvantages depending on the contents of the cans. If the content is wholly or partly in fluid state, it is advantageous to cut the can open through the lid in order to prevent liquid from flowing out, which can easily happen when the can is cut open at the side. When the content of the can is solid, for example, liver paste, it is preferable to cut off the lid from the side wall of the can, as the lid then can easily be lifted off without the cutting means coming into contact with the content of the can.

Besides the object mentioned above one object is to arrange the opener in such a way that it may be used for opening cans from above through the lid as well as through the side wall.

Another object is to provide a cheap and efiicient device for cutting the lids from cans.

A still further object is to provide a can opener which is easy to handle.

The invention is hereinafter fully set forth in the following specification and shown in the accompanying drawing which illustrates a suitable embodiment of the invention.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 shows the can opener partly in section viewed from one side.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the underside of the opener.

Fig. 3 shows the opener in a longitudinal section together with a can on which the opener is applied in position for cutting through the side wall of the can.

Fig. 4 shows a similar section of the can opener but applied on a can in position for cutting through the lid.

Fig. 5 shows diagrammatically on an enlarged scale a part of the can opener.

Fig. 6 shows a sectional view of the a slightly modified detail.

In the drawing the reference numeral 1 designates a straight arm, one end portion 1a of which is bent out from the plane of the arm while the other end portion is formed to a handle. The reference numeral 2 designates a pin provided with a head and projecting from the underside of the arm to which it is secured by threads. A double-conical cutting disc 3 is rotatably mounted on said pin. At a suitable distance from the cutting disc a bearing sleeve 4 is turnably mounted with one end in the arm 1. A shaft 5 is eccentrically mounted in the sleeve, and a feed roller 6, provided with a toothed circumference, is secured to one end of the shaft 5, while a crank or handle can opener with United States Patent O '7 is secured to the other end of .the shaft.

The bearing sleeve 4 is provided with a lever 8 serving the purpose of turning said sleeve manually. In the improvement shown the lever is secured to the sleeve 4 by means .of

threads 4b, and the sleeve is provided with threads 4a engaging corresponding threads in the arm and adapted to 1 be rotated relative to thearm at least 180 from the positionshown in Fig. 1 to the .position shown in Fig.3, and vice versa. 'In this way the last-mentioned threads serve as radial and axial bearing means and prevent .the axial displacement of the sleeve when'it is not turned for the adjustment of the feed'roller. To restrict the .lever 18 .and sleeve 4 from being rotated continuously, which would lead either to separationtof the lever and sleeve. fromarm 1-or cause binding between the sleeve and arm, conventional stop means such as for example an abutment or shoulder (not shown) may be provided on the arm .1 to contact and thus limit the swing .of the .lever 8 to the position shown in Fig. 3 in which'lever 8'is about parallel with arm 1.

In order to prevent the arm 1 from being turned or displaced from its normal position during the feeding action, when the lid of the can is to be cut open from above, as shown in Fig. 4, the arm is provided with a projecting support wing 9, which during the cutting operation slides on and supports the upper edge of the rim of the can. The support wing has an edge 9a which forms an oblique angle with the longitudinal direction of the arm, corresponding to the angle between the conical surface of the cutting disc and the cutting plane of the disc. The letter A designates the line shown in Fig. 5, and B designates a can partially shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The said straight line A is drawn from the end of the projection, consisting of the bent end portion of the arm, to the nearest point of the conical cutting disc surface facing the arm 1, and Fig. 5 shows that the line coincides with a plane which is tangential to the said conical surface and contacts the said point. This arrangement makes it possible to open cans by cutting through the lid as well as through the side walls.

The can opener works in the following manner. By turning the lever 8 to the position shown in Fig. 1 the distance between the cutting disc 3 and the feed roller 6 is so adapted that it is possible to place them on either .side of the rim edge of the can. When turning the lever 8 to the position shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the cutting disc 3 is pressed through the lid or the side wall of the can, whereby the feed roller is brought in feeding contact with the flange of the can at its outside or inside. Then when turning the handle by one hand the lever 8 is kept in the last mentioned position by grasping around the arm 1 and lever 3 with the other hand.

The bearing sleeve need not be mounted on the arm 1 by means of threads, it may for example be mounted as shown in Fig. 6 in a smooth-bored hole 4a in the arm 1 and secured by means of a disc 10 fixed on the shaft 5' and to the outer end of the sleeve 4' against a shoulder S'a on shaft 5 by means of the feeding disc 6' so that it smoothly contacts the surface of the arm in order to prevent the axial displacement of the sleeve 4. All other details shown in Fig. 6 are similar to those in the previously described embodiment. The lever 8 is shown in full lines to the left and with dot-dash lines to the right.

The can opener according to the invention has many advantages over the common apparatus which are attached to the wall, since, due to my invention, it is possible to open cans either through the lid or the wall of the can independently of a wall support, and since the opener is as easily washed as a knife or a fork. This is of great importance in view of the poisoning by food which can easily take place due to the fact that bacterias member both rotatably mounted on said arm with their axes at a right angle to the plane of said arm, means for moving one of said members towards the other, said arm having an end portion establishing a projection from the plane of said arm of such length therefrom that a straight line drawn from the end of said projection to the nearest point of the conical surface of said disc member facing said arm coincides with a plane tangential to said conical surface and which includes said point thereby to cause said conical surface to stand in the plane of the lid of a can when cutting through the side wall of the can adjacent the lid, and to stand in the plane of the side wall of the can when cutting through the lid adjacent the side wall.

2 A can openercomprising an arm, a conical cutting disc member and a toothed feed roller member both rotatably mounted on said arm with their axes at a right angle to the plane of said arm, said cutting disc member being mounted centrically and said feed roller member being mounted eccentrically, and means for moving one of said members towards the other, one end portion of said arm constituting a handle and the other end portion constituting a projection from the plane of said arm of such length therefrom that a straight line drawn from the end of the projection to'the nearest point of the conical surface of said disc member facing said arm coincides with a plane tangential to said conical surface and which includes said point.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,443,783 Bauer et al Jan. 30, 1923 1,491,477 Hawley Apr. 22, 1924 1,608,864 Rogginger Nov. 30, 1926 1,771,493 Kovats July 29, 1930 2,255,640 Arnesen Sept. 9, 1941 2,403,373 Johnson July 2, 1946 

